Padmarajan

P. Padmarajan (b. at Muthukulam in Onattukara, Alleppey, 23 May, 1945; d. at Hotel Paramount Towers in Kozhikode, 24 January, 1991) was a Malayalam writer and film director acclaimed for his fine and detailed screenwriting and expressive direction with rich music. Padmarajan made some of the landmark motion pictures in Malayalam cinema, including such masterpieces as the rich and lyrical Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal ( wineyards for us to dwell ) (1986), the evocative and sensitive Thoovanathumbikal ( Butterflies of the spraying rain ) (1987) and the expressive picture Moonnam Pakkam ( On the third day ) (1988).

Early life

He was the sixth son of Thundathil Anantha Padmanabha Pillai and Njavarakkal Devaki Amma. After early schooling at Muthukulam, he studied at M. G. College and University College, Trivandrum, graduating in Chemistry (1963). Subsequently, he learned Sanskrit from the scholar Cheppad Achyutha Warrier at Muthukulam. He then joined All India Radio, Trichur (1965), starting as a programme announcer, and later settled at Poojappura, Trivandrum (1968); he would remain at AIR until 1986, when his busy involvement in films would prompt him to retire voluntarily. He began writing during these times.

Career as screenwriter and director

His stories deal with deceit, murder, romance, mystery, passion, jealousy, libertinism, anarchism, individualism, and the life of peripheral elements of society. Some of them are considered as among the best in Malayalam literature; his first novel Nakshathrangalaey kaaval won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award (1972).

He entered the world of Malayalam films by writing the screenplay for Bharathan's directorial debut Prayaanam (1975); he is arguably the most talented script writer to have graced Malayalam cinema.

He later began to direct films based on his own screenplays, beginning with Peruvazhiyambalam (1979); this led to a remarkable series of films, which are greatly popular among the lay people as opposed to merely intellectuals and film critics , while also being rich in artistic and thematic originality and excellence. In his themes, he was a great experimenter who explored all walks of life. Many of his films bear the hallmark of the pure romanticist.

He is celebrated for his possibly unparalleled attention to detail in his screenplays. Some of his scripts are probably the smoothest narratives ever penned in the Malayalam language. They are also ample witness to his keen observation, acute perception, and astute portrayal of human relationships and emotions: many of them have stunning and haunting climaxes, which he portrayed with great sensitivity and intensity on the screen; many are generously sprinkled with homely and humorous scenes; his dialogues are natural, in the language of the common man, and yet have a subtle lyrical quality.

Indeed, a just case may be made that his directorial merit flowed easily from his exquisitely crafted screenplays: he never directed a film based on a script written by someone else (unlike other Malayalam film directors of comparable stature, say, Bharathan and K. G. George), and but rarely adapted his script from a story not his own. Consequently, he had an unusually intimate knowledge of the characters in his films; in combination with his mastery of the script, this made him the excelling director that he was.

Together with Bharathan and K. G. George, he successfully laid the foundation for a school of Malayalam cinema that strove to tread a middle ground by striking a fine balance between intellectual and commercial appeal, without sacrificing the strong points of either approach; this was accomplished by portraying brilliant stories with ordinary men and women as characters, to which all could relate, steering clear of artificial characters, stereotype mannerisms, and pedantic inclinations allegedly typical of `critically acclaimed' films.

Along with Bharathan, he displayed uncommon skill in handling human sexuality on the screen, treating very challenging topics without ever falling prey to vulgarity.

He was quite adept in spotting talent, and introduced many fresh faces as actors, including Ashokan (Peruvazhiyambalam), Rahman (Koodevidaey), Jayaram (Aparan), Ajayan (Moonnaampakkam) and Nitish Bharadwaj (Njaan gandharvan); all would play leading roles in Malayalam films. He coaxed sparkling and inspired performances from many actors, such as Bharath Gopi, Karamana Janardhanan, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi in Innale, Shaari, Shobhana, Sumalatha, Thilakan, and Nedumudi Venu; indeed, Thilakan's rendition in Moonnaampakkam may have marked the peak of the thespian's career. He also aided in establishing, to a fair degree, the fame of other directors such as Bharathan, I. V. Sasi, and Mohan, through the screenplays he chose to give them; his collaboration with Bharathan as a script writer is celebrated as a pinnacle of Malayalam cinema. His assistants who went on to direct films independently include Thoppil Ajayan (Perumthachchan), Suresh Unnithan (Jaathakam, Raadhaamaadhavam), and Blessy (Kaazhcha,Thanmaathra, the latter adapted from Padmarajan's short story Ormma).

His sudden and untimely death, which occurred while he was visiting a film theatre in Calicut screening his last film Njaan gandharvan, was widely mourned, and the feeling of loss among the people of Kerala is truly soul-felt, lingering to this day.

His wife, Radhalakshmi Padmarajan (from Chittur in Palakkad) who was his colleague at AIR before their marriage (1970), has written her reminiscences about him in her book Padmarajan entaey gandharvan [Padmarajan, my celestial lover]. Their son, P. Ananthapadmanabhan, is a writer.

Films

1. Peruvazhiyambalam [Highway shelter] (adapted from his novel) (1979)
2. Oridaththoru phayalvaan [Once upon a time, a wrestler] (1981)
3. Kallan Pavithran [Pavithran the thief] (1981)
4. Novemberintaey nashtam [The loss of November] (1982)
5. Koodevide [Whither the nest] (adapted from the Tamil novel Moongil pookkal by Vaasanthi) (1983)
6. Parannu parannu parannu [Soaring soaring soaring] (1984)
7. Thinkalaazhcha nalla divasam [Monday, an auspicious day] (1985)
8. Nammukku paarkkaan munthiri thoppukal [Vineyards for us to dwell] (adapted from the novel Nammukku graamangalil chennu raappaarkkaam [Let us go and dwell in the villages] by K. K. Sudhakaran) (1986)
9. Kariyilakkaattu polaey [Like a zephyr of dry leaves] (1986)
10. Arappatta kettiya graamaththil [In the village which wears a warrior's belt] (1986)
11. Deshaadanakkili karayaarilla [The migratory bird never cries] (1986)
12. Nombaraththippoovu [The sorrowful flower] (1987)
13. Thoovaanathumbikal [Butterflies of the spraying rain] (adapted from his novel Udhakappola [A bubble in water]) (1987)
14. Aparan [The other] (adapted from his short story) (1988)
15. Moonnaampakkam [On the third day] (1988)
16. Season (1989)
17. Innalaey [Yesterday] (adapted from the Tamil novel Jananam [Birth] by Vaasanthi) (1990)
18. Njaan gandharvan [I, the celestial lover] (1991)

Screenplays

1. Prayaanam [Progression] (Bharathan) (1975)
2. Ithaa ividaey varaey [Look! Till here] (I. V. Sasi; adapted from his novel) (1977)
3. Rathinirvedham [Venereal disenchantment] (Bharathan; adapted from his novel) (1978)
4. Raappaadikaludaey gaadha [The song of the nightbirds] (K. G. George) (1978)
5. Nakshathrangalaey kaaval [The stars alone guard me] (K. S. Sethumadhavan; adapted from his novel) (1978)
6. Vaadakakkoru hrudhayam [A heart for rent] (I. V. Sasi; adapted from his novel) (1978)
7. Sathraththil oru raathri [A night in an inn] (N. Sankaran Nair) (1978)
8. Thakara [Weed] (Bharathan; adapted from his novel) (1979)
9. Lorry (Bharathan) (1980)
10. Kochchu kochchu thettukal [Small small mistakes] (Mohan) (1980)
11. Shalini entaey koottukaari [Shalini, my friend] (Mohan) (1980)
12. Idavela [Interval] (Mohan) (1982)
13. Eenam [Tune] (Bharathan) (1983)
14. Kaikeyi (I. V. Sasi) (1983)
15. Kaanaamarayaththu [Where the horizon is lost from view] (I. V. Sasi) (1984)
16. Ozhivukaalam [Vacation] (Bharathan) (1985)
17. Karimpinpoovinakkaraey [Across the sugar-cane flower] (I. V. Sasi) (1985)
18. Ee thanuththa veluppaankaalaththu [In these cold wee hours] (Joshi) (1990)

Novels and Short Stories (excluding filmed ones)

1. Onnu randu moonnu [One, two, three]
2. Jalajwaala [The watery fire]
3. Nanmakaludaey sooryan [The sun of virtues]
4. Vikramakaaleeshwaram
5. Shavavaahanangalum thedi [In search of biers]
6. Manjukaalam notta kuthira [The horse which winter longed for]
7. Kaivariyudaey thekkaey attam [The southern end of the bannister]
8. Kazhinja vasanthakaalaththil [During last spring]
9. Prathimayum raajakumaariyum [The statue and the princess]
10. Prahaelika [Conundrum]
11. Pukakkannada [Smoke glasses]
12. Mattullavarudaey venal [The summer of others]
13. Syphilisintaey nadakkaavu [The path of syphilis]
14. Rithubhedhangaludaey paarithoshikam [The reward of vicissitudes]
15. Lola Milford enna American penkidaavu [Lola Milford, the American maiden]

External links

• A page on Padmarajan maintained by his family
• From a page on Malayalam films